Archive for May, 2014

A friend of mine sent me a copy of this article by Ben Stein. Ben is one of the great intellects of our time and noted for his no holds-barred analysis of important subjects.

As I told my friend, the situation being addressed is a disgusting example of the totalitarian state we have fallen into due to our own desire to appear tolerant. This guy Sterling appears to be a wealthy old fool who I wouldn’t wipe my feet on, But being old, wealthy, and stupid is not a crime. If he has one ounce of courage he will sue and force these actions by the NBA all the way to the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, to use an old flying term, we have passed the point of no return. Our universities and the media have indoctrinated generations into the “It takes a village” doctrine, that invokes a feel-good dependency on liberal thought and government with no enduring values or need to think, excel or achieve any kind of actualization. We suffer individually and the impact on the Country and the economy is devastating. God help us!

Please carefully read Mr. Stein’s article. Think about it and discuss it with your friends. The issue is not the stupid statements of a wealthy old man, the issue is whether, in a free society, we have the freedom to think, believe, and reason as we choose and that freedom will prevail and not totalitarianism. Don’t accept the false values of the status quo merely to be deemed acceptable.. Racism is despicable regardless of the color of the racist. Don’t let fear hoodwink you into the sacrifice of freedom to fall in with the “me too” crowd. Resist the “thought police” with every fiber of your being. What we are experiencing from the modern liberals and the media is a repeat of Kristallnacht without the overt violence…..Yet!

Without the freedom assured by the Constitution, we will surely succomb to the despotism of totalitarianism!

PAC

An Article by Ben Stein

Thursday

So, here I am, still in Denver, a lovely city, but too high up.

Herewith, a few lowly thoughts about Mr. Donald Sterling, his private conversations with his mistress, the media lynching of him, and the actions of the NBA sanctioning him severely for those private thoughts and comments.

“It’s a slippery slope,” said billionaire sports club owner Mark Cuban when asked about the sanctions. I am not sure what he meant, but he’s right. Sterling is being punished for his thoughts. He is being punished for actions that make the NBA look bad even though they were not actions at all, but thoughts.

As far as I have been able to determine, the NBA code of conduct allows sanctions for actions. I don’t see anything that allows sanctions for thoughts. So, where does the authority for that come from?

Next, if we are to sanction private thoughts and comments by NBA owners, shouldn’t we put all of their mistresses and wives and friends and children under oath and ask about any comments they have ever made in private? Why is only Mr. Sterling being singled out for retribution for his thoughts? Why not start wholesale, Vishinsky-like Stalin show trial interrogation of everyone close to an NBA owner to find out what he has said that might be objectionable? Isn’t the punishment of Mr. Sterling just an in terrorem bill of attainder against one man otherwise?

So, while we’re at it, let’s see what actions other professional team owners have done that might embarrass their league. They are all rich so probably they have girlfriends. We know that one in the Midwest was just arrested for a DUI and drug possession. Nothing at all was done to him. Not a thing.

Are we in a world where a non-criminal thought or comment is punished harshly but an actual deed — an arrest for DUI and drug possession — is not punished ? Can that really be happening?

And while we are on this witch-hunt about racist comments, why stop at NBA owners? How about media personalities? I know some big names that have made some startlingly racist comments in their earlier days. Should we go after them, too? Why should they be allowed to sit in judgment of everyone else?

And why is it suddenly a crime to harbor racist thoughts? Note, I deplore racism and have fought against it all of my life. But when did it become actionable by a self-regulating body with the power to deprive a member of immense amounts of money to do so because of his thoughts? Actions, of course. But THOUGHTS?

And what of Mr. Obama’s pastor and his spectacularly anti-white comments? What about Minister Farrakhan? Is it allowed to make racist remarks about one racial group but not about others? What about the black comedians I see on TV at night with their endless mockery of whites? Is that allowed? Why?

Mr. Cuban is right. Once we start punishing people on the basis of thoughts, we are in real trouble. There is no end in sight that is compatible with a free society. And, again, why isn’t there some outcry about Ms. Stiviano and her illegal taping of a private conversation?

Next, Mr. Adam Silver, the head of the NBA. Hailed as a hero. Brave. Decisive. I don’t get it. He was just bullied into taking the path the media demanded. He made a rush to judgment without the slightest thought to the ramifications of his actions in a Constitutional democracy. He’s not a hero. A hero would have insisted on taking some time to study the consequences of his actions. But he did what the media demanded. So he’s a hero to them.

And meanwhile, out there in America, the black person’s world is in chaos. Wildly higher school dropout rates than among whites. Demolished family structure. Terrifyingly higher arrest and incarceration rates than whites. A drug plague. These are catastrophes and the media ignores them. But one lone old rich drunk who talked too much to his mistress… oh, we’ll nail him and things will be great in the world of blacks.

I am telling you, we are in a bad way here. I hate racism but I love freedom and we are throwing it away with both hands.

About the Author

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.